Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Shalit deal: Dispute over female prisoners

Hamas source tells al-Hayat newspaper 400 names agreed upon as part of exchange deal, but dispute remains over some 50 more prisoners, including Amneh Muna, who lured Israeli teen Ofir Rahum to Ramallah where he was murdered eight years ago

Israel and Hamas agreed on the names of 400 prisoners to be freed in the first phase of an exchange deal for the release of captive soldier Gilad Shalit, but a dispute remains over the names of 50 additional prisoners, a Hamas official told al-Hayat newspaper.

According to Tuesday's report in the London-based Arabic languages newspaper, the official said that a dispute remains over the release of three female Palestinian prisoners – Amneh Muna, convicted of the murder of Ofir Rahum eight years ago, as well as Ahlam al-Tamimi and Qahira a-Saadi.

Other disputed names include Tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti, Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Ahmed Saadat, and a number of officials from Hamas' military wing, including Ibrahim Hamed, Abbas a-Sayyid, Abdullah Barghouti, Jamal al-Hijja and Hassan Salameh.

In addition, negotiations are ongoing over the release of Arab-Israeli and east Jerusalem prisoners. According to the report, Israel has agreed to include 17 east Jerusalem prisoners in the deal, out of which 10 are to be exiled out of the territories.

The source also said that Israel has proposed to expel 130 prisoners, but Hamas objects and is working to minimize the number. According to the source, the decision of expulsion will depend on the prisoners themselves.

The source further added that intensives takes were ongoing, and that the German mediator is remaining in Israel to finalize the deal.

On Sunday, the State said at a High Court of Justice hearing that it would release 980 prisoners as part of the impending exchange deal. The court heard a petition by bereaved parents and the Almagor Terror Victims Association demanding the list on prisoners Israel plans to release as part of the deal be published.

The parents argued that the State was turning its back on them, but Supreme Court President Justice Dorit Beinish said that she had heard that in the meantime, there is no deal. Gilad Shalit MazesMazes of the Israeli soldier abducted by Hamas on June 25, 2006Images courtesy of Yonatan Frimer

More mazes like these at Team Of Monkeys .com and Ink Blot Mazes . comGilad Shalit MazesMazes of the Israeli soldier abducted by Hamas on June 25, 2006Images courtesy of Yonatan Frimer, Maze Artist at Ink Blot Mazes.